TO RELIEVE A COUGH, squeeze the juice of one large onion and add one tablespoon of honey. Take one teaspoon three or four times daily. Apply the onion to the chest, “mashing it well.”
Mix two teaspoons of cider vinegar in water or wine. Sip one tablespoon four times daily.
Combine two tablespoons of honey with one tablespoon of grated horseradish root to sooth a cough.
Make a tea of one teaspoon grated nutmeg in one cup of hot cider. Drink three times daily.
Remember to nurture your nails with an herbal infusion.
2 tablespoons chopped horsetail or crushed dill seed
1 cup boiled water
1 tablespoon almond oil
Infused chopped horsetail or crushed dill seed in boiled water. Cover and steep 20 minutes. Strain and pour into 2 small bowls. Soak your nails for 10 minutes or longer. Massage 1 tablespoon of almond oil into the nails and cuticles. Use the infusion to soak the toenails and massage any leftover oil into the toenails.
This lovely handmade lotion can be applied to pumiced elbows, knees, and feet.
4 tablespoons vegetable glycerine
1 cup rose water
4 tablespoons cornstarch
5 drops rose oil, optional
2 drops lavender, optional
Combine vegetable glycerin, rose water, and cornstarch, and heat over a double boiler to thicken. Cool, add rose oil and lavender (optional). Stir and apply to chapped or dry skin. Bottle any leftovers.
This amazing formula has many uses! The liquid can be added to soaps and floor washes and the dried herbs can be included in your own incense recipes or burned alone on an incense charcoal tab. I created the formula to vibrate to good health, wealth, and success. Be sure to empower the finished brew with your magickal bell. (tuning forks) and your own special prayer.
2 tablespoons dried chamomile
2 tablespoons dried bergamot
2 tablespoons dried ginger
2 tablespoons dried rosemary
Mortar and pestle
1 up distilled water
1 paper coffee filter
1 clear glass bottle or jar
Grind the herbs with mortar and pestle just enough to break them up and release their aroma, not enough to pulverize them. Boil one cup of distilled water. Take one half of your herbal mixture and place to center of a paper coffee filter. Twist filter tightly. Place filter in the cup of hot water. Remove after one hour; throw soaked herbs away. Refrigerate sunshine brew and be sure to label DO NOT DRINK. To use, empower at sunrise or at noon. Add a crystal to the brew for more power.
Yellow soap dye (optional, but if you do not use dye for this recipe, your
soap will appear a faint, murky yellow-green)
Soap molds or square Pyrex dish
4 vitamin E gel capsules
Grind sunshine herbs into a finer mixture-especially the ginger, this should be powdered. Follow soap-melting instructions as given on the package. Once soap has melted, with ladle, transfer soap to your Pyrex measuring cup. (If you melted the soap in the cup in the microwave, transfer won’t be necessary.) Whisk in desired amount of color and scent by following instructions given with those products. Add the two tablespoons of sunshine brews, and whisk. Add desired amount of herbs. Some individuals like very few herbs in their soaps, where others like a more generous amount–just remember that herbals can clog your drain if they are too large or you use too much. Break vitamin E gel capsules and add the liquid to your soap mixture. Vitamin E will help to preserve the chamomile. Makes approximately ten 6-ounce soaps.
Here’s a recipe for a simple toner to be used within 3 days.
For sensitive and mature skin:
1/2 cup rose, lavender or Calendula water infusion*
1 teaspoon vegetable glycerine
1/2 cup witch hazel
For oily skin:
1/2 cup sage leaves, or
1/2 cup lemon balm, lemon grass, and lemon verbena, or
1 teaspoon vegetable glycerine
1/2 cup witch hazel
1/2 cup rosemary
*For an infusion, steep 2 tablespoons fresh herb (or a combination of herbs to equal 2 tablespoons) in half a cup of boiled water in a covered glass or porcelain container for 10 minutes. Strain before using.
For sensitive and mature skin, combine rose water, lavender water, or Calendula water as an infusion with vegetable glycerin and witch hazel. Apply with a cotton ball. For oil skin, infuse any of the herbs in half a cup of boiled water for 10 minutes and strain. Add glycerine and witch hazel. Refrigerate after using. After the toner dries and sets, apply a moisturizing cream or lotion.
Enjoy this spicy oil for Mexican salad and rice dishes, or add it to a fresh garden salad.
1 cup oil
3 (2-inch) sprigs each of oregano and basil or rosemary and thyme
1 tablespoon each fresh oregano and basil or rosemary and thyme
1 (1/4-inch piece ginger
1 chili
1/2 teaspoon seeds, crushed with mortar and pestle
Gently heat oil 3 – 5 minutes. Pour into a glass jar with six 2-inch sprigs of herbs for each cup of oil. or one of the following fresh herbs, ginger, chili, or seeds. Cool, cover, and refrigerate up to six months.
*Note: Only add garlic to oils to be used within three days,. Garlic forms a botulism in oil that can cause severe diarrhea.
Herb butters add a delightful flavor to vegetables, crackers, breads and meats. They are quick and easy to prepare and turn an ordinary dinner into a meal to remember
Hints:
Use unsalted butter
Use lemon zest to enhance flavor
Mix into softened butter or simmer
Herb butters get stronger with time. Refrigerate two to three weeks. Freeze two to three months
Add nuts just prior to serving
Chop fresh herbs, cut with scissors, or food process fully dry
1 tablespoon vegetable glycerine or 2 tablespoons cocoa butter
A few drops essential oil (any kind), optional
To an herbal infusion, add honey and vegetable glycerin or cocoa butter. You can add a few drops of essential oil of your choice. Choose a herb that appeals to your senses and that you find pleasing.
Apply the following herbal mask and allow it to set for 10 minutes.
1 tablespoon comfrey leaves, chopped
1 tablespoon chamomile, chopped
1/2 cup boiled water
3 tablespoons yogurt or powdered oatmeal (grind in a blender or coffee grinder).
Infuse comfrey leaves and chamomile in boiled water. Cover and steep 10 minutes before straining. Add to yogurt or oatmeal and apply liberally on your face and neck. Lie down and cover your eyes with a cotton ball dipped in the leftover infusion (put on relaxing, soft music as you wait for it to set). Rinse and apply an herbal toner.
Annoint your candle with the oil that you have chosen. This is done by placing a little of the oil on your fingertips. Grasp the candle at its midpoint with your left index finger and thumb, and use your right index finger and thumb to stroke oil on the candle from the midpoint up to the top of the candle. Next, grasp the candle at its midpoint with your right index finger and thumb, and use your left index finger and thumb to stroke oil on the candle from the midpoint down to the bottom of the candle. Continue in this fashion until the entire candle has been annointed.
All-purpose Candle Annointing Oil
1 cup rose petals
1 cup violets
1 cup water
1 cup olive oil
1 tablespoon clove oil
2 teaspoons powdered cinnamon
1 tablespoon powdered myrrh
1/4 cup wild fennel seeds
Simmer all in 2 cups of water, covered, for 1 1/2 hours, or tincture in brandy to cover for 1 month. Drink 1/2 cup of tea daily or dilute a teaspoon of tincture in boiled water. It is safe for elderly folks and children in half doses. For elderly folks, drink 1/4 cup of tea twice daily. Children over 10 years old may drink 1 teaspoon to 1 tablespoon of diluted tea daily for 1 to 2 weeks of the month. If suma and Siberian ginseng are not available as roots, use a tablespoon of dried herbs or buy a tincture (an alcoholic tincture of these roots is often available in health food stores) and add a few drops to your tea.
Witches Of The Craft® 